Easy as 1, 2, 3

In the fall of 2000, the Pickerington Center, part of Ohio University’s Lancaster campus, opened for classes, providing traditional and nontraditional students alike the opportunity to receive a higher education without traveling too far from home.

In that first year, it offered only 11 classes. Now, there are more than 100.

Before the purchase of the 10 acres the satellite center sits on today, the dean of Lancaster’s campus held classes at Pickerington High School Central for about 10 years. The Lancaster campus enrolls more than 2,500 students. Students at the Pickerington Center make up about 300 of that number.

“I think our students fall into a couple different areas,” says Pickerington Center Director Leigh Atkinson. “Some fall into regular adults; they’re working and they have families. You get that Ohio University education, and you can stay at home and you have a balance. You get to raise your kids and keep your job.”

Atkinson adds that some students may have started their college degree following high school, but dropped out. The Pickerington Center gives them a chance to go back.

For more traditional students, Atkinson says the center gives them the ability to stay at home and save money. And if they were not initially accepted to Ohio University’s Athens campus, they can relocate after improving their grades.

“We can be a pretty great safety net,” Atkinson says.

And it’s an affordable safety net at about $2,500 a semester, including room and board. It’s a quarter of what a student would pay in Athens, Atkinson says.

The average class size at the Pickerington Center is 25. It’s a nice contrast to large lecture halls at traditional universities.

“There are some people who can’t succeed in that, but they can here,” Atkinson says.

Students don’t just come from the Pickerington area, Atkinson says. There are some students who come from surrounding communities, such as Baltimore and Gahanna. The center also offers a post-secondary program for high school juniors and seniors. To be accepted into the program, students must be in the top 25 percent of their class and pass all sections of the Ohio Graduation Test.

“We want to make sure students have the opportunity (to earn college credit), but for some, they’re just not ready,” Atkinson says.

Attending classes is free for qualified students, Atkinson says, as the school district will pay for books.

While not all of the bachelor’s and associate degrees offered at the Lancaster campus can be completed at the Pickerington Center, there are still a handful to choose from, including bachelor’s degrees in communication studies, criminal justice, specialized studies, technical and applied studies, and associate degrees in law enforcement technology and individualized studies. There are 11 baccalaureate and 15 associate degree options offered through the Lancaster campus and Pickerington Center combined, as well as eight certificates.

While it may seem these options pale in comparison to Athens’ 220 baccalaureate degrees, Atkinson says the intimate size of the Pickerington Center – which consists of two buildings on 10 acres of land – is appealing to many students.

“We are a small staff, so we have a mindset that everybody (in the office) does everything,” Atkinson says. “Students see us as very approachable and very accessible. People will come up from class and come right through (the office), and it’s just fun. I think we connect with the students.”

Atkinson recalls Sept. 11, 2001, when students, faculty and staff came together to mourn over the attack on New York City.

“We sat in front of the TV all day long and talked and cried. It was an environment where that was comfortable. Nobody gets nervous coming in here.”

Lancaster campus and Pickerington Center at a glance:

72 percent of students receive financial aid.

2,500+ students enrolled (300 at the Pickerington Center).

25 percent of Pickerington students are full-time students, 75 percent are part-time.

$261,000 in scholarship dollars awarded.

Ohio University has five regional campuses and three satellite centers.

At the Pickerington Center there are about 20 classrooms total, including a computer lab.